The Disney movie about a Greek God is a God Almighty great movie and (sing it with me) "Though it might seem impossible, that's the Gospel truth!"
1. A villain that made sense.
Roald Dahl famously said that you had to made the villain completely villainous for the story to work. Though I often disagree with him on this point, Hades was a villain who you didn’t feel bad for- he was the villain, the bad guy! And his story made sense. He wanted to get back at Zeus so he turn baby Hercules mortal and then did everything is his power to keep Hercules mortal so that he would eventually die and Hades would have his soul. Though I don’t personally recommend that you do this to your own enemies, you have to admit that it’s a good story line. Very reminiscent of Sleeping Beauty- you know, the villain who wanted to kill her enemy’s daughter. It also avoids the whole “beauty” cliché found in Snow White and Tangled. Seriously- I’m sick of villains who just want to be beautiful. Give me a bad guy who’s actually bad.
2. The music was amazing.
There’s no point in denying that “I Wouldn’t Say I’m In Love” is the best love song ever. And “Zero to Hero” is one of the best workout songs ever (minus “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You”, of course). You can’t forget about “The Gospel Truth” either. Those Muses sure knew how to sing a song. And unlike some songs *cough*Let It Go*cough* you can actually understand the non-chorus words. Granted, the soundtrack is no Tarzan but it’s easily top 10 Disney soundtracks.
3. Speaking of “Zero to Hero”, there was a progression of character
. Herc didn’t rely on being the same person the entire movie. Unlike Cinderella, he changed himself on many levels- the most obvious being physically. However, he didn’t pull an Ariel and just get a hot new body. In the beginning he wanted to find out the truth about himself and his birth parents; then he wanted to become the hero to discover himself. Although all the other Greek girls fell head over heels in love with his fame and muscles, he was attracted to Meg; despite the fact that his initial dweed-status would have made you think he’d love being the center of attention to these gals. Of course, when he was accepted into Olympus and given his God status back, he decided he’d rather be a mortal with Meg because he no longer needed the fame and God-like status.
4. Meghara
. I shouldn’t even have to explain myself here. The sass-filled beauty who tried to be cold hearted only to show us that love happens even when you don’t want it. She had a past and a reason to be stone cold to Herc- I mean, she gave her soul to Hades so that she could spend the rest of her life with the guy she loved only to find he was completely over her. She wasn’t an easily won prize, like Anna who “fell in love with” and got engaged to the villain in one night. At least Cinderella, Aurora and Snow actually found true love in one night.
5. The love story makes sense.
The relationship between Meg and Hercules wasn’t the main story here: they each had their own story and their own lives that just happened to intertwine. If your entire life story is just to find someone to love you, you might need to love yourself and gain some ambition. Herc loved Meg because she made him feel important and like he was good enough for once- he didn't have to prove anything to her. Meg loved Herc because he was sweet and cared about her- he showed her what love was. And after he got her killed, he went to the Underworld to save her soul. That should be a requirement for all love stories.
6. Life has consequences.
Zeus was rude to Hades and had his son kidnapped; Meg gave up her soul to be with a guy and lost her freedom; Hades kidnapped a baby and didn’t get the kid’s soul; Hercules played a part in killing Meg and had to get her soul back. There’s no easy way around it: every single character in Hercules did something stupid or bad and had to pay for it. This is probably the best life lesson in any Disney movie.
7. It predicted a Vine trend.
Disney has always gone the extra mile to give a head nod to pop culture but there aren’t many movies that have accurately predicted a trend. And no, Lizzie McGuire doesn’t get credit for making Rome popular.
